ENCINITAS: CITY PUTS PROJECTS ON HIGH-PRIORITY LIST

Lifeguard tower, pedestrian safety at Cardiff school move into ‘scoping’ period

Replacing Moonlight Beach’s 50-year-old lifeguard tower and improving pedestrian safety near Cardiff Elementary ought to be added to Encinitas’ list of top priorities in the coming year, City Council members agreed this week.

Shifting those projects out of a budgetary limbo and onto the city’s “A” list of top-priority work doesn’t mean construction will start soon. Instead, the two projects will go into what the city refers to as a “scoping” period where design options, cost estimates and construction financing are explored, the council decided at its meeting Wednesday night.

Later, the two projects might eventually move into the construction phase, but finding money for that work is already a concern.

Councilman Tony Kranz said he wanted any replacement lifeguard tower to be as cheap as possible without looking “cheesy.” Councilwoman Lisa Shaffer said the city might consider working with a private organization to raise money for the new structure.

The city of Del Mar made such an arrangement for a lifeguard tower, but it took eight years to pull the money together, Encinitas Marine Safety Capt. Larry Giles told her.

A replacement tower was initially included in the overhaul of Moonlight Beach’s restrooms and concession stand area, but it was later eliminated as a cost-cutting measure. Work on the other beach improvements began last fall and is scheduled to conclude next month.

Meanwhile, Cardiff Elementary parents have been on a campaign to gain sidewalks along San Elijo Avenue to improve pedestrian safety. They received funding from Cardiff’s business development organization to pay for project design work — a problem-solving approach that won praise from council members Wednesday night.

Council members decided to move the Cardiff Elementary and Moonlight Beach projects to their top-priorities list as they reviewed the city’s proposed Capital Projects Budget — the spending plan that covers large-scale municipal construction projects. The city’s other major budget document, which will be reviewed by the council next week, covers general day-to-day spending.

Encinitas, which has two new council members and a relatively new city manager, is taking a pared-down approach to its spending plans for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Instead of approving the typical six-year Capital Projects Budget, council members are expected to vote on a one-year stopgap measure in June. That document contains mostly ongoing projects that have previously been approved for funding, City Manager Gus Vina said.

Next fall, council members will revisit the capital projects expenditures as they start a new long-term planning process, he said.